A.M. ATL: Hot doggin’ it

Morning, y’all! It’s Friday, and it just so happens we have a few light, delicious stories on the menu today. Well, after some business talk. If you don’t finish today’s newsletter a little hungry, I’ll be impressed.

Let’s get to it.

WHAT THE CHARTER-COX MERGER MEANS FOR YOU

(Photo Illustration: Jessi Esparza/AJC; Source: Getty Images)

The landmark $34.5 billion merger between Cox Communications and Charter Communications closed Thursday, forming the largest cable company in the U.S.

We’re already finding out how the sale will change the media and business landscape in Georgia.

The basics

• The combined company will have about 37 million customers and more than 100,000 employees.
• The parent company will take the Cox Communications name within a year.

New headquarters, new jobs

• The combined company will establish Southeast offices in Sandy Springs at the headquarters of Cox Communications.
• Executives said the new cable giant will bring customer service jobs currently filled overseas back into the U.S. within 18 months and recruit more than 1,000 new jobs in Cox territories.

What it means for current customers

• Charter is a major cable and broadband provider in Georgia, while Cox has the bulk of its business out west, with a smaller footprint in the Peach State.
• Charter and Cox customers will likely not see a change in service. Equipment will continue working, account information won’t change, and pricing and current plans will stay the same.
• Spectrum is offering a free year of mobile service to Cox internet customers who don’t already subscribe to Cox Mobile, according to the release.
• As part of the acquisition, eligible Cox TV customers will have select streaming apps, including HBO Max, Disney+ and Paramount+, among others, added to their service at no extra cost.

🔎 READ MORE: All about the deal

(P.S. — The Atlanta Journal-Constitution is owned by Cox Enterprises. You probably know that, but we gotta disclose it anyway.)

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MUST-KNOW POLITICS AND BUSINESS

💬 U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff’s criticism of President Donald Trump’s professional relationship with White House aide Natalie Harp struck a chord. The administration released a defensive response, which just ended up fanning the flames. Google searches for “Natalie Harp” are up 5,000%.

🫏 U.S. Sen. Mark Kelly and former U.S. Rep. Gabby Giffords were in town this week to back Georgia Democrats. The political power couple visited Democratic state Sen. Josh McLaurin’s district and highlighted growing affordability issues in the state. McLaurin is the Democratic nominee for lieutenant governor.

WAFFLES AT TACO HOUSE. I MEAN, TACOS AT WAFFLE HOUSE

Waffle House is testing tacos on the menus of about 45 Georgia restaurants. (Courtesy of Waffle House)

Some Waffle Houses in Georgia are now offering a dish that people have probably been Frankensteining with their Waffle House leftovers for years: Tacos!

• Well, we’re playing fast and loose with the term taco. The options include a breakfast meat taco with egg and cheese, a cheesesteak melt taco, a chicken melt taco or patty melt tacos. You’ll have to go elsewhere for your birria fix.
• The Norcross-based chain said it is testing tacos on the menus of about 45 restaurants in Georgia, with window clings that declare “Tacos in the House!”
• They’ve been available for about a week, and “the early feedback has been positive,” according to a Waffle House spokesperson.

Well, duh. They’re tacos.

🌮 READ MORE: More info on this latest permutation of breakfast food

ALL ABOARD THE WIENERMOBILE

The most important schematic you'll ever see. (Photo Illustration: AJC; Source: Getty, MARTA)

I told AJC reporter Sara Gregory that she needs to face civil consequences for this story because the hot dog puns are outrageous. I got to seven and stopped counting.

The Oscar Mayer Wienermobile is in town this weekend (see the article for a schedule of stops), and Gregory got a privileged place inside the bun for a spin around the city.

Some absolutely real Wienermobile facts:

• The ceiling inside the conveyance is light blue, painted with clouds.
• More people have gone to outer space than driven the Wienermobile.
• It’s not just one — six sausage chariots make up the fleet.
• The crew trains for weeks at a place called Hot Dog High (of course) before they can take the wheel. That includes safety instruction from retired police officers, and I can’t decide how those individuals must feel about being on Wienermobile detail.
• Drivers all get hot dog-themed names and then pass them on to lucky passengers. That means I now work with noted media professionals Sara Kraut, Jumbo Dog Jason and All-Beef Abbey.

As modern sage Paulette once said to Elle Woods, “That makes me want a hot dog real bad.”

🌭 TODAY’S MUST-READ: A delightful account of the AJC’s Wienermobile ride-along

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NEWS BITES

The SEC is in a three-year CFP Championship drought. Who’s gonna step up?